The first step in taking action to slow climate change is to educate ourselves and each other about factors that cause climate change, including human activities. We must learn to evaluate our everyday activities and determine which activities we can take to slow climate change. It is important to be realistic about the effect that our behaviours have, but a little change can make a big difference.

Taking Action to Slow Climate Change

Educating Yourself About Climate Change

“Scientists Disagree Over Global Warming.” “Future Climate Uncertain.” You may have seen headlines like these on web sites or in newspapers and magazines, or heard similar claims in the media. Both statements are true. However, non-scientists and scientists often interpret disagreements and uncertainties in different ways.

Outside of the scientific community, people also have disagreements and uncertainties. People are more likely to disagree over topics that are complex. Although data and hypotheses provide evidence on these topics, people also make decisions based on their beliefs and values.

New data about climate change are added to our knowledge every year. As part of the scientific process, hypotheses are revised and re-tested as new information becomes available. As more and more evidence is published, the scientific community reaches a general agreement or consensus.

Making Decisions About Climate Change

The combination of satellites and computers now allows anyone who has access to the Internet to view environmental changes for themselves. Internet sites and their tools allow you to gather information about hurricanes, floods, deserts, sea ice, air pollution, deforestation and reforestation, dust storms, crop growth, forest fires, and many other conditions on Earth. However, understanding the relationship between climate change and human activities is complex. Not all scientists, governments, politicians, or individuals agree on how the scientific data should be interpreted..

The interpretation of scientific data and nonscientific information guides how decisions are made at home, at school, in businesses, and at all levels of government. Many different organizations are suggesting many different solutions to a wide variety of different climate-change issues. How we evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of these solutions is almost as complicated as understanding climate change itself.

Calculating Your Carbon FootprintMost climatologists agree that an increase in greenhouse gases is the largest single cause of current climate change. The main human causes of this increase are activities that produce air pollution and activities (such as cutting down forests) that reduce the ability of natural cycles to absorb greenhouse gases.

Fossil fuels are burned to produce electricity and heat, to power our vehicles for transportation, and to manufacture and transport consumer goods. The burning of fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide into the air, which may lead to climate change. Our net contribution to climate change varies from person to person, business to business and country to country. To help compare different degrees of impact, researchers developed the concept of a carbon footprint. A carbon footprint measures the amount of greenhouse gases produced in units of carbon dioxide. For example, you can calculate how many tones of carbon dioxide production you are responsible for in your daily life through such activities as driving or travelling by plane, cooking food, and buying manufactured goods. All of the activities involve the burning of fossil fuels. Many web sites have carbon footprint calculators that let you find out how the carbon footprint of your household compares with that of other families.

Reducing Your Carbon FootprintWhat is the controversy about the concept of a carbon footprint?

How can you reduce your carbon footprint?

What are carbon offsets? Give a few examples.

Advocating for Actions to Slow Climate ChangeExplain what “advocating for climate change” means. What actions can be taken to slow climate change?

Explain what the following organizations/initiatives are and what they have to do with climate change. • The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)• The Kyoto Protocol• ecoEnergy Efficiency Initiative• Energy Star• Cap-and-Trade Systems• Carbon Tax Systems

Explain what is mean by “Lowering Greenhouse Emissions by Using Alternative Sources of Energy”

International Initiatives to Combat Climate Change

People who are skeptical about anthropogenic climate change argue that the carbon footprint is a misleading or unhelpful concept. Some skeptics argue that the influence average individuals have on climate is less significant than the influence that governments and corporations have. They also claim that the calculations of carbon footprints are very crude and inaccurate. However, the combined actions of every person on Earth equal a significant portion of the human contribution to climate change. Therefore, responsibility on the individual level plays an important role in reducing global greenhouse gas emissions.You can reduce your carbon footprint by choosing activities that reduce or eliminate the need to burn fossil fuels. Simple ways to reduce your carbon footprint include unplugging your mobile phone charger when it’s not in use, drinking tap water instead of bottled water when possible, and taking shorter showers to use less heated water. As Figure 9.20 shows, making a difference doesn’t have to be difficult.You may also choose to purchase carbon offsets to minimize your carbon footprint. Carbon offsets are credits that an individual or organization can purchase to compensate for performing a different carbon dioxide emitting activity. For example, someone who has travelled by airplane may offset the carbon emissions caused by that flight by donating money to a tree-planting program. Other activities that are supported by the purchase of carbon offsets include development of alternative sources of energy, recycling programs, and methane capture from landfills.

Advocating for Actions to Slow Climate Change

Advocating for awareness and action is another powerful way to affect climate change. For example, as an advocate, you can help educate others and influence how governments and individuals respond to the issue of climate change. The following actions can help you be an effective advocate:Identify and join groups or individuals who champion actions that you supportLearn about the processes by which governments and advocacy groups enact and influence environmental lawsSet an example by reducing your carbon footprintWrite letters to corporations and government representatives to encourage them to support initiatives to slow climate change.

• Create an activity - Calculate your own carbon footprint and write a description of what you can do to lower it.

• Create ?? Get all 2D students to choose from a list of things they can do in groups to reduce the school’s carbon footprint ex. Tree planting, teach elementary kids about climate change, more …

Global Contributions to Climate Change

The map in Figure 9.21 shows the global warming potential (GWP) of the greenhouse gases emitted by different areas of the world in 2002. Europe, Japan, the United States, and China are disproportionately large because their populations are large and the average lifestyle in those locations expends large amounts of energy. Producing this energy emits much more gas per person and creates more types of greenhouse gases.On the map, Africa appears smaller than its land area or population would suggest because poverty prevents most people who live there from using electricity or performing activities that would emit greenhouse gases. However, some developing countries contribute to the anthropogenic greenhouse effect by clearing their forests, which removes trees that help absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Recent studies also indicate that soot, or black carbon, from small cooking stoves in developing countries may be a major contributor to global climate change. In fact, black carbon may be responsible for 18 percent of Earth’s warming and as much as half of Arctic warming. Converting to newer stoves that do not release as much soot may have a major positive influence in terms of slowing climate change.

International Initiatives to Combat Climate Change

The impacts of climate change vary from country to country, depending on location, population, and way of life. However, the climate system is global. Winds and ocean currents do not stop at national borders. Effective solutions to climate change must involve a great deal of international cooperation. Figure 9.22 summarizes the important steps that have occurred in international cooperation in dealing with climate change.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)In 1988, the United Nations Environment Programme and the World Meteorologic Organization formed the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The IPCC is composed of hundreds of scientists from all over the globe. The goals of this panel are to assess the role of human activities in producing climate change and to recommend ways to respond.The IPCC regularly reports on the available scientific information on climate change; the environmental, social and economic effects of climate change; and effective strategies to combat climate change. The IPCC also regularly organizes conferences and summits in which delegates from participating governments and organizations, such as Chief Bill Erasmus shown in Figure 9.23, meet to discuss new scientific data and policies.

The Kyoto ProtocolIn 1997, the Kyoto Protocol was developed. This international treaty was produced as a result of the Earth Summit in Rio de Janiero, Brazil, and acts as a legally binding commitment between nations. The industrialized nations that signed the treaty agreed to reduce their collective emissions of four greenhouse gases and two halocarbons by 5.2 percent compared to the emissions of those gases in 1990. By 2008, 183 nations and the European Union had signed the agreement. At that time, the United States was the only developed country that had not ratified the agreement.

Educating and Empowering Consumers

Governments also help individuals combat climate change by passing laws or regulations and by educating consumers to make choices that benefit the environment. Canada’s Office of Energy Efficiency (OEE) has implemented a program called the ecoEnergy Efficiency Initiative. One ecoEnergy program provides financial incentives to homeowners and businesses to retrofit older buildings to make them more energy efficient. It also provides helpful tips to the public on buying, driving, and maintaining vehicles to save fuel. In addition, Ontario’s Drive Clean program requires all Ontario cars have to pass strict emissions inspections.

Imagine that your family wants to buy new light bulbs that use less energy. The task of choosing is made easier by the International ENERGY STAR® symbol, as shown in Figure 9.24. The symbol is found on many different energy-efficient products, from CFLs or LED light bulbs to furnaces, refrigerators, and other major appliances. The ENERGY STAR® symbol indicates that a product meets specifications for reduced energy consumption, which helps lower production of greenhouse gas emissions.

Economic Initiatives to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Governments must find ways to support both economic growth and climate change initiatives. How do politicians encourage individuals and corporations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and encourage the growth of new “eco-friendly” industries? The following two responses have been developed:Cap-and-Trade SystemsIn a cap-and-trade system, an authoritative body, most commonly a government, establishes a ceiling (or cap) on how much carbon may be produced. Corporations that produces less carbon than their limit may sell or trade their credits to corporations that produce more carbon than their limit. Over time, the caps are gradually lowered.Carbon-Tax SystemsIn a carbon-tax system, the government levies a tax on either the source of carbon compounds or the emission of greenhouse gases. Under this policy, the price of anything that depends on carbon fuels goes up. As a result, consumers have an incentive to spend their money on alternatives that do not produce carbon emissions. Without the carbon tax, these alternatives are usually more expensive than their carbon-produce counterparts.

Lowering Greenhouse Emissions by Using Alternative Sources of Energy

Approximately 18 percent of the greenhouse gases, produced by Canada, result from the burning of fossil fuels to generate electricity. Probably the best long-term way to reduce the production of greenhouse gases is to develop sources of energy that produce fewer greenhouse gases or none at all. Canadians already use many of these power sources, including wind, solar, biomass, hydroelectric, tidal, and nuclear power. Figure 9.25 shows the methods by which Canada’s energy is generated.

Converting the existing power-generation infrastructure to a more climate-friendly system, such as the wind farm shown in Figure 9.26, will take many years and cost a large amount in both dollars and carbon emissions. However, individuals don’t need to wait for major power companies to switch to alternative energy. Geothermal heating and cooling systems are available for most homes, and single-home solar and wind power systems can provide all of the energy needed for many standard households. By switching to these local systems, individuals can reduce the total amount of fossil fuels that are burned for electrical generation. As a result, Canada’s total carbon footprint, and therefore Canada’s contribution to climate change, can be reduced.